Risk factors for increased duration of untreated psychosis. Results from the FACE-SZ dataset

Childhood trauma and treatment resistance in first-episode psychosis: Investigating the role of premorbid adjustment and duration of untreated psychosis

BACKGROUND

Early identification of treatment non-response in first-episode psychosis (FEP) is essential to outcome. Despite indications that exposure to childhood trauma (CT) can have adverse effects on illness severity, its impact on treatment non-response and the interplay with other pre-treatment characteristics is sparsely investigated. We use a lack of clinical recovery as an early indicator of treatment resistance to investigate the relationship between CT and treatment resistance status at one-year follow-up and the potential mediation of this effect by other pre-treatment characteristics.

METHODS

This prospective one-year follow-up study involved 141 participants recruited in their first year of treatment for a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder. We investigated clinical status, childhood trauma (CT), premorbid adjustment (PA), and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) at baseline and clinical status at one-year follow-up. Ordinal regression analyses were conducted to investigate how PA and DUP affected the relationship between CT and one-year outcome in FEP.

RESULTS

45 % of the FEP sample reported moderate to severe CT, with significantly higher levels of CT in the early treatment resistant group compared to participants with full or partial early recovery. Ordinal regression analysis showed that CT was a significant predictor of being in a more severe outcome group (OR = 4.59). There was a partial mediation effect of PA and a full mediation effect of DUP on the effect of CT on outcome group membership.

DISCUSSION

Our findings indicate that reducing treatment delays may mitigate the adverse effects of CT on clinical outcomes and support the inclusion of broad trauma assessment in FEP services.

History of learning disorders is associated with worse cognitive and functional outcomes in schizophrenia: results from the multicentric FACE-SZ cross-sectional dataset

Schizophrenia is associated with early neurodevelopmental disorders, including most frequently learning disorders (LD), among them dyslexia and dyspraxia. Despite the demonstrated links between schizophrenia and LD, specific clinical patterns of the schizophrenia with a history of LD subgroup remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate cognitive impairment, symptoms and functional outcome associated with a history of LD in a large cross-sectional, multicentric, sample of schizophrenia subjects. 492 community-dwelling subjects with schizophrenia (75.6% male, mean age 30.8 years) were consecutively included in the network of the FondaMental Expert Centers for Schizophrenia in France and received a thorough clinical assessment. The 51 (10.4%) subjects identified with a history of LD had significantly impaired general cognitive ability (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Full Scale Total IQ: Cohen's d = 0.50, p = 0.001), processing speed (d = 0.19), verbal comprehension (d = 0.29), working memory (d = 0.31), cognitive inhibition and flexibility (d = 0.26), central executive functioning (d = 0.26), phonemic verbal fluency (d = 0.22) and premorbid intellectual ability (d = 0.48), as well as with a worse functional outcome (Global Assessment of Functioning, d = 0.21), independently of age, sex, education level, symptoms, treatments, and addiction comorbidities. These results indicate that a history of LD is associated with later cognitive impairment and functional outcome in schizophrenia. This suggests that history of LD is a relevant clinical marker to discriminate subgroups of patients with schizophrenia with different profiles in a precision psychiatry framework.

Development and Calibration of the PREMIUM Item Bank for Measuring Respect and Dignity for Patients with Severe Mental Illness

Most patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are paper-based, leading to a high burden for patients and care providers. The aim of this study was to (1) calibrate an item bank to measure patients’ experience of respect and dignity for adult patients with serious mental illnesses and (2) develop computerized adaptive testing (CAT) to improve the use of this PREM in routine practice. Patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder were enrolled in this multicenter and cross-sectional study. Psychometric analyses were based on classical test and item response theories and included evaluations of unidimensionality, local independence, and monotonicity; calibration and evaluation of model fit; analyses of differential item functioning (DIF); testing of external validity; and finally, CAT development. A total of 458 patients participated in the study. Of the 24 items, 2 highly inter-correlated items were deleted. Factor analysis showed that the remaining items met the unidimensional assumption (RMSEA = 0.054, CFI = 0.988, TLI = 0.986). DIF analyses revealed no biases by sex, age, care setting, or diagnosis. External validity testing has generally supported our assumptions. CAT showed satisfactory accuracy and precision. This work provides a more accurate and flexible measure of patients’ experience of respect and dignity than that obtained from standard questionnaires.

Prevalence and types of childhood trauma in first episode psychosis patients. Relation with clinical onset variables

OBJECTIVE

To study the prevalence and the type of childhood trauma (CT) in a first-episode psychosis (FEP) cohort and in a healthy control (HC) sample. To study which clinical and sociodemographic variables in the onset of the FEP are related to having suffered some traumatic experience in childhood.

METHOD

100 FEP patients and 94 HC participated in the study. The Childhood Traumatic Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to evaluate CT. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Personal and Social Performance (PSP), the Suicide Risk Scale of Plutchik (SRSP), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were also administered.

RESULTS

61% of FEP patients and 17% of HC reported having experienced some kind of CT. FEP showed more CT than controls in all subscales, except in sexual abuse. The most frequent CT was emotional abuse. For the FEP group, younger age, more years of education, have a first-degree family history, more positive and negative symptoms, more perceived stress and more personal and social functioning were the variables more influenced by having suffered some kind of CT.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a high prevalence of CT in FEP patients. Having a first-degree family history of mental illness, more positive symptoms, and more perception of stress at the time of hospital admission were related to having suffered CT. More research is needed to find out the best way to detect CT and its role in psychosis to be able to implement interventions to improve the evolution of these patients.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and treatment efficacy in childhood-onset schizophrenia and adolescent-onset schizophrenia in mainland China: A retrospective study

AIM

The comparative study of childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) and adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) is scarce. This study aimed to examine the differences in clinical presentations and treatment efficacy between COS and AOS and further analyse the factors affecting the efficacy of early-onset schizophrenia (EOS).

METHODS

A total of 582 electronic medical records of inpatients with EOS (216 COS and 366 AOS inpatients) between 2012 and 2019 were retrospectively analysed. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) was used to assess psychotic symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyse the predictors of efficacy.

RESULTS

The mean age of onset of EOS was 12.87 ± 2.19 years. The importance of better diagnosing COS appeared in a longer illness course, more frequently insidious onset, less frequent delusions, more severe negative symptoms and bizarre behaviours than AOS. Besides, COS had more frequent visual hallucinations and impulsive behaviours than AOS. After hospitalization, the improvement rate of psychotic symptoms in COS and AOS were 38.3% and 47.8%, respectively. The difference of efficacy between the two groups was statistically significant. Days of hospitalization, age of onset, presence of flat affect, PANSS total and negative score at admission were predictors of treatment efficacy in EOS individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

COS inpatients suffer more obvious negative symptoms, bizarre behaviours, visual hallucinations and impulsive behaviours and worse efficacy than AOS inpatients. The severity of negative symptoms and age of onset seem the most noteworthy predictors of efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of early detection and early intervention.

Low peripheral mitochondrial DNA copy number during manic episodes of bipolar disorders is associated with disease severity and inflammation

Mitochondria (Mt) are intra-cellular components essential for cellular energy processes whose dysfunction may induce premature cellular senescence and/or inflammation, both observed in bipolar disorders (BD). We investigated mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) levels in patients with BD being in manic, depressive or euthymic phase and in healthy controls (HC) both characterized for the levels of blood-based inflammatory markers and stigma of pathogens. 312 patients with BD were compared to 180 HC. mtDNAcn were measured using a digital droplet PCR. Serum levels of 14 inflammatory molecules and 3 anti-infectious IgG stigma were respectively evaluated by electro-chemiluminescence, ELISA and dedicated immunoassays. The statistical analyses were performed using Spearman's correlation, Wilcoxon signed-rank and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests. P-values were adjusted for multiple testing with Benjamini-Hochberg method. We found low levels of mtDNAcn in BD patients as compared to HC (P = 0.008) especially during manic episodes (P = 0.0002). We also observed that low levels of mtDNAcn are negatively correlated with mood and psychotic scales (PANSS, YMRS and CGI) (adjusted P (Adj P) = 0.02, 0.003 and 0.05 respectively) and positively with the GAF severity scale (Adj P = 0.002). They were also correlated with high levels of both intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 (Adj P = 0.003 and 0.001) along with a trend toward increased IL-2, IL-10 and B2M circulating levels (Adj P = 0.05). Here, we report correlations between marker of mitochondria functioning and both clinical scales and inflammatory markers in BD patients experiencing manic episodes. If replicated, these finding might allow to predict transition between disease phases and to design accurate therapeutic options.

A conceptual framework to develop a patient-reported experience measure of the quality of mental health care: a qualitative study of the PREMIUM project in France

Background: The objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework to define a domain map describing the experience of patients with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) on the quality of mental health care. Methods: This study used an exploratory qualitative approach to examine the subjective experience of adult patients (18-65 years old) with SMIs, including schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 37 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients recruited from the largest public hospital in southeastern France. Transcripts were subjected to an inductive analysis by using two complementary approaches (thematic analysis and computerized text analysis) to identify themes and subthemes. Results: Our analysis generated a conceptual model composed of 7 main themes, ranked from most important to least important as follows: interpersonal relationships, care environment, drug therapy, access and care coordination, respect and dignity, information and psychological care. The interpersonal relationships theme was divided into 3 subthemes: patient-staff relationships, relations with other patients and involvement of family and friends. All themes were spontaneously raised by respondents. Conclusion: This work provides a conceptual framework that will inform the subsequent development of a patient-reported experience measure to monitor and improve the performance of the mental health care system in France. The findings showed that patients with SMIs place an emphasis on the interpersonal component, which is one of the important predictors of therapeutic alliance. Trial registration: NCT02491866.

Relationships between social stigma, stigma experience and self-stigma and impaired quality of life in schizophrenia across three Latin-American countries

The relationships between stigma and quality of life in schizophrenia (QoL) have been extensively explored but have mostly focused on self-stigma and self-esteem and have never been explored in Latin-America. The objective of this study was to determine which stigma dimensions were associated with QoL in a sample of community-dwelling SZ subjects of three Latin-American countries. Stabilized outpatients with SZ were recruited in three Mental Health Services in three Latin-American countries: Bolivia (N = 83), Chile (N = 85) and Peru (N = 85). Stigma and Qol-SZ were evaluated by self-administered questionnaires, the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI-12) and the SQoL-18. 253 participants were included. In multivariate analyses, QoL has been associated with each stigma dimension (social stigma, stigma experience and self-stigma), independently of age, gender, education level, ethnicity, age at illness onset, illness symptomatology and mental health treatment. More specifically, social stigma was significantly associated with impaired psychological and physical well-being, self-esteem and friendship. Self-stigma was significantly associated with impaired psychological well-being, self-esteem and autonomy. The present results confirm the importance of stigma in QoL of SZ subjects and identify new targets to develop stigma-orientated programs. Most of the previous programs have focused on self-stigma while social stigma has shown to be associated with a wide range of impaired QoL areas. Stigma and QoL may have a bidirectional relationship and targeting some specific QoL areas (like autonomy through self-empowerment approaches) may also improve the effectiveness of these programs to reduce stigma impact on the quality of life of subjects with schizophrenia. Future studies should also explore differences across countries as subjects from Bolivia were more frequently Aymara and reported higher stigma and lower QoL than SZ subjects from other countries.

Early and very early-onset schizophrenia compared with adult-onset schizophrenia: French FACE-SZ database

OBJECTIVE

To compare the clinical symptomatology in patients with Early-Onset Schizophrenia (EOS, N = 176), especially the subgroup Very Early Onset Schizophrenia (VEOS) and Adult Onset Schizophrenia (AOS, N = 551).

METHOD

In a large French multicentric sample, 727 stable schizophrenia patients, classified by age at onset of the disorder, were assessed using standardized and extensive clinical and neuropsychological batteries: AOS with onset ≥ 18 years and EOS with onset < 18 years (including 22 VEOS < 13 years).

RESULTS

The importance of better diagnosing EOS group, and in particularly VEOS, appeared in a longer DUP Duration of Untreated Psychosis (respectively, 2.6 years ± 4.1 and 8.1 years ± 5.7 vs. 1.0 years ± 2.5), more severe symptomatology (PANSS Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale scores), and lower educational level than the AOS group. In addition, the VEOS subgroup had a more frequent childhood history of learning disabilities and lower prevalence of right-handedness quotient than the AOS.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrates the existence of an increased gradient of clinical severity from AOS to VEOS. In order to improve the prognosis of the early forms of schizophrenia and to reduce the DUP, clinicians need to pay attention to the prodromal manifestations of the disease.

The Latin American version of the internalized stigma of mental illness scale (LA-ISMI): a multicentric validation study from three Latin American countries

BACKGROUND

To date, no data have been available concerning the psychometric characteristics of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI-29) in Latin American countries. The aim of this study was to validate a Latin American version of the ISMI in people with schizophrenia.

METHODS

The study included 253 stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia from 3 Mental Health Services in three Latin American countries: Bolivia (N = 83), Chile (N = 85) and Peru (N = 85). We analyzed the psychometric properties using item response and classical test theories. An item reduction was then performed to improve the psychometric properties of the ISMI-29. The final version of the ISMI was tested for construct validity, reliability, external validity and differential item functioning (DIF).

RESULTS

The five-factor structure of the ISMI-29 was not confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA = 0.12, CFI = 0.77, and WRMR = 2.20). Seventeen items were discarded to obtain a satisfactory psychometric version. The ISMI-12 evaluates 3 dimensions: social stigma (4 items), stigma experience (4), and self-stigma (3). The factor structure accounted for 68% of the total variance. Internal consistency was satisfactory. The scalability was satisfactory, with INFIT statistics within an acceptable range. In addition, the results confirmed the absence of DIF and supported the invariance of the item calibrations between countries.

CONCLUSION

The ISMI-29 is not valid in our sample and should not be used in Latin American countries. The ISMI-12 is the first internalized stigma questionnaire with satisfactory psychometric properties available in Latin American countries. Its brevity could facilitate its dissemination and use in clinical settings.

Treatment outcomes and associations in an adolescent-specific early intervention for psychosis service

AIM

Compared with adult onset psychosis, adolescent psychosis has been associated with poorer outcomes in terms of social and cognitive functioning and negative symptoms. Young people experiencing first episode psychosis have developmental needs that frequently pre-date and are compounded by psychosis onset (a previous study). There is a lack of published studies of adolescent onset psychosis and further information is needed so that developmentally appropriate interventions can be developed. We report an observational naturalistic cohort study of an adolescent specific service, the Early Psychosis Support service (EPSS).

METHOD

We examined baseline demographic and clinical variables, treatments outcomes and predictors of outcome for this population.

RESULTS

The mean age of our sample was 16.3 years. Median duration of untreated illness (DUI) was 88 weeks, and median duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) was 16 weeks. We found significant improvements in positive symptoms, negative symptoms, disorganization, excitement, emotional distress and depression from 0 to 12 months. We found that baseline positive symptoms and DUI significantly predicted positive symptoms at 12 months and only negative symptoms at baseline predicted 12-month negative symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Our finding that specialist early intervention for adolescents experiencing psychosis is effective suggests that such treatment should be routinely offered in line with existing clinical guidelines. Our finding that DUI is predictive of poorer outcome at 12 months suggests that even earlier intervention from a specialist team may further improve treatment outcomes.

The Patient-Reported Experience Measure for Improving qUality of care in Mental health (PREMIUM) project in France: study protocol for the development and implementation strategy

BACKGROUND

Measuring the quality and performance of health care is a major challenge in improving the efficiency of a health system. Patient experience is one important measure of the quality of health care, and the use of patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) is recommended. The aims of this project are 1) to develop item banks of PREMs that assess the quality of health care for adult patients with psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression) and to validate computerized adaptive testing (CAT) to support the routine use of PREMs; and 2) to analyze the implementation and acceptability of the CAT among patients, professionals, and health authorities.

METHODS

This multicenter and cross-sectional study is based on a mixed method approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies in two main phases: 1) item bank and CAT development based on a standardized procedure, including conceptual work and definition of the domain mapping, item selection, calibration of the item bank and CAT simulations to elaborate the administration algorithm, and CAT validation; and 2) a qualitative study exploring the implementation and acceptability of the CAT among patients, professionals, and health authorities.

DISCUSSION

The development of a set of PREMs on quality of care in mental health that overcomes the limitations of previous works (ie, allowing national comparisons regardless of the characteristics of patients and care and based on modern testing using item banks and CAT) could help health care professionals and health system policymakers to identify strategies to improve the quality and efficiency of mental health care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT02491866.

[The 10-year findings from the FondaMental Academic Center of Expertise for Schizophrenia (FACE-SZ): Review and recommendations for clinical practice]

OBJECTIVES

The present article is a synthesis of the first 10 years of follow-up of the FondaMental Academic Center of Expertise for Schizophrenia (FACE-SZ) cohort.

METHODS

More than 700 community-dwelling stabilized subjects have been recruited and evaluated to date. The mean age was 32 years with 75 % males, the mean illness duration was 11 years, the mean age at illness onset was 21 years, the mean duration of untreated psychosis was 1.5 years and 55 % were current daily tobacco smokers.

RESULTS

The major findings of the FACE-SZ cohort may be summarized as follows: the metabolic syndrome is twice more frequent in schizophrenia as compared to the general population and is not correctly assessed and treated; cognitive disturbances have been found in benzodiazepine consumers and in patients with chronic low-grade peripheral inflammation; major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common current comorbid condition in about 20% of the subjects at the evaluation. MDD is associated with impaired quality of life and with increased nicotine dependency in SZ daily tobacco smokers. Improving depression and negative symptoms may be the most effective strategies to improve quality of life in schizophrenia; the duration of untreated psychosis is much longer in cannabis smokers and in subjects with an age at illness onset<19 years. Adherence to treatment is diminished in subjects who report a subjective negative feeling after treatment intake independent of objective side effects (extrapyramidal syndrome and weight gain). Akathisia has been found in 18% of the subjects and has been associated with antipsychotic polytherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

In the light of these results, some recommendations for clinical care may be suggested. The early detection of schizophrenia should be specifically increased in adolescents and/or cannabis smokers. All patients should be administered a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at the beginning of the illness and after stabilization under treatment. Improving metabolic parameters and lifestyle (diet and physical activity) should be reinforced. The benefit/risk ratio of benzodiazepine and antipsychotic polytherapy should be regularly reevaluated and withdrawn as soon as possible. If MDD remains underdiagnosed and undertreated, improving depression may strongly improve the quality of life of SZ subjects. In the end, Cognitive Remediation Therapy and anti-inflammatory strategies should be more frequently included in therapeutic strategies.